The Cornell Population Program (CPP), under the administrative leadership of Dr. H. Elizabeth Peters, has 68 affiliates who specialize in population research relating broadly to three core themes: (1) families and children;(2) health behaviors and disparities;and (3) poverty and inequality. Cross-cutting themes include a focus on policy, racial and ethnic diversity, migration and immigration, social and biological mechanisms, and domestic and international research. Affiliates come from 15 different departments or programs at Cornell and represent a broad range of disciplines including demography, economics, government, psychology, sociology, and statistics. The CPP offers a unique opportunity to draw diverse faculty together into a center for population research that supports cross-disciplinary and national and international comparative studies, enhances research funding for these studies, and promotes high quality research, with a readiness to convert academic studies into meaningful policy recommendations. Support for this initiative comes from the highest administrative levels at Cornell. The CPP is currently funded by a seed grant from the Cornell Office of the Vice Provost for the Social Sciences, deans from several colleges, and matching funds and administrative support from the Bronfenbrenner Life Course Center (BLCC), the administrative unit in which the CPP is located. In this application we are applying for funding from the NICHD Population Infrastructure Program - Short- term Support for Rising Programs (SSRP) to support three research cores (administrative, computer, and statistical cores) and a developmental core. Given the quantity and quality of population research at Cornell and its unique data resources (e.g., the Census Research Data Center and the Cross-National Equivalency Files), the CPP is on a rapid upward trajectory in the larger population research community. As described in this application, NICHD funds will support new activities that develop synergies and promote collaborations among population researchers located in different units across campus. The proposed cores will provide services that will lead to increased external funding in population research. NICHD support for the CPP is vital to Cornell's on-going efforts to retain faculty and attract talented new faculty with interests in population research.